Question elicits testy response from Greitens

Thursday

JEFFERSON CITY — Gov. Eric Greitens on Thursday said neither he nor his staff have been questioned or contacted by law enforcement agencies investigating his 2015 sexual affair with a St. Louis woman.

In a testy exchange that opened a session at the Governor's Mansion with publishers and editors representing the Missouri Press Association, Greitens said he had answered all the questions he needed to about the affair.

St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner opened a criminal investigation last month after KMOV television in St. Louis reported that Greitens had a sexual relationship in March 2015 with a woman who told her husband Greitens had tied her up naked in his basement and photographed her. In a recording made secretly by the husband, the woman said Greitens told her he would make the photographs public if she told anyone about the affair.

Greitens, a Republican, was at the time exploring a candidacy for governor but had not announced his plans. The sexual encounter took place in the St. Louis home Greitens shares with his wife, University of Missouri political science Assistant Professor Sheena Greitens, and their children.

Gardner and the FBI have received copies of the recordings, and additional recordings not made public, as well as phone logs and other documentation from attorney Al Watkins, who represents the husband. Watkins in a news release this week said his client had been subpoenaed by Gardner to appear before a grand jury.

Greitens was asked two questions — whether he had photographed the woman as she described and whether he had been contacted by law enforcement. He has not directly answered the question about the photograph, instead saying in a January interview with The Associated Press that he did not blackmail the woman or coerce her into silence.

“This was a consensual relationship,” Greitens said in a January interview. “There was no blackmail, there was no violence, there was no threat of violence, there was no threat of blackmail, there was no threat of using a photograph for blackmail. All of those things are false.”

On Thursday, Greitens said he did not want to go over the matter again because he feels he has answered all the important questions. He attempted to pivot to policy as he made the remarks.

“We’ve answered them in multiple interviews with multiple people and we’re ready to move forward, which we are and which we have,” Greitens said. “What is exciting to see is the way the people of Missouri are responding to our agenda.”

The news that a grand jury was sitting only came out this week, but Greitens said he has answered the questions about contacts with law enforcement as well.

“We have answered all of those questions and you know that the answer is no,” he said. “You know the answer is no because you have seen that question answered multiple times.”

Greitens is seeking to put his administration back on a regular track after the revelations about the relationship. It is difficult because he already had a rocky relationship with many Republicans in the legislature. When he released a budget proposing a 10 percent cut in higher education appropriations, Senate President Pro Tem Ron Richard, R-Joplin, said it would not happen.

The cuts to higher education were necessary to balance the budget while making investments in foster care programs and infrastructure, Greitens said. Higher education institutions should work to reduce administrative costs, he said.

The University of Missouri System can save up to $70 million annually, Greitens said, noting the conclusions of a consulting report delivered to the Board of Curators in December. The savings are based on an estimate of streamlining efforts and benefit changes for university employees and none of the major proposals have been implemented.

“I am confident that those administrative costs can be saved in the university system,” he said.

If Greitens’ budget proposal is unchanged, state support for the UM System will have been cut by almost $80 million over the past two years.

“We prioritize 11 year olds,” he said. “Some people would prioritize 21 year olds and graduate students. For us, that was the choice that we made.”

His tax cut plan, promoted in a series of appearances around the state, has also drawn mixed reviews from the legislature.

The plan Greitens proposed would cut the top state income tax rate, create a state earned income credit for lower-income families and simplify the calculation of corporate income for tax purposes. To offset revenue losses, Greitens wants to eliminate the timely payment allowance for retailers and employers who remit sales and withholding taxes, reduce or eliminate the state deduction for federal taxes and expand collection of sales tax on interstate purchases.

Asked about the plan and its reception, Greitens said he has had conversations with legislators with major roles writing tax legislation and expects to find support for his proposals.

“The important thing is we cut taxes for the people of Missouri,” Gretiens said.

rkeller@columbiatribune.com

573-815-1709

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